This invention relates to an improved holster assembly for a handgun and, in particular, to a universal holster assembly that makes it possible to safely and rapidly utilize any one of three distinct modes of carry.
As described by Bianchi in U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,734, many holsters are presently available that can be selectively worn either under the arm or at the hip. Stoesser in U.S. Pat. No. 4,029,242 discloses a leg holster wherein the holster body is suspended between a pair of leg encircling straps which coact to prevent the weapon from bouncing as the leg is moved. This leg mount, however, generally supports the weapon relatively high up on the leg and as a result it is difficult to withdraw the weapon from the holster. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,258,871 to McMahon, a holster assembly is shown wherein the holster body is snapped into a separate holster positioner and support member having vertically extended straps for attaching the member to some part of a body harness. The snap fasteners used by McMahon oftentimes become worn with usage and may eventually fail to allow the weapon to fall and possibly accidently discharge. Furthermore, this type of mount permits the holster body and weapon stored therein to be easily separated from the harness. Clearly, this arrangement would be unsuitable for use by a law enforcement official where, under emergency situations, retension of the weapon is of paramount importance. Lastly, the outwardly extended mounting straps used by McMahon make it difficult to conceal the holster when it is worn in any one of the three traditional carrying positions.
Although some holster assemblies can be utilized in one or even two modes of carry, none of these devices provides for the secure and safe retention of a handgun in each one of the three well known and accepted concealed carrying positions. These positions include the hip position wherein the holster is mounted upon a waist encircling belt, the underarm position wherein the holster is mounted upon a shoulder harness and an ankle position wherein the holster is mounted upon a leg encircling device. Typically, most people who are required to carry a handgun as part of their professional duties, are quite familiar with these three positions and through continuous practice with the weapon, become conditioned to quickly and safely draw the weapon from any one of these positions using a natural response. A natural response may be described as a movement that enables the user to remove the weapon from the holster body with a natural sweeping motion of the arm without having to contort or unnaturally position the body. A truly universal holster that allows the user to draw a secured weapon from any concealed carry position has heretofore not been realized in the art.